Digital Commons Network^™

Complete Analysis Of The B‐Cell Response To A Protein Antigen, From In Vivo Germinal Centre Formation To 3‐D Modelling Of Affinity Maturation, Cl Adams, Mkl Macleod, Milner‐White E James, R Aitken, P Garside, Di Stott

Peninsula Medical School

SummarySomatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin variable region genes occurs within germinal centres (GCs) and is the process responsible for affinity maturation of antibodies during an immune response. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on the immune response to haptens, which may be unrepresentative of epitopes on protein antigens. In this study, we have exploited a model system that uses transgenic B and CD4+ T cells specific for hen egg lysozyme (HEL) and a chicken ovalbumin peptide, respectively, to investigate a tightly synchronized immune response to protein antigens of widely differing affinities, thus allowing us to track many facets of the development …

An Investigation Of The Phototransduction Cascade And Temporal Characteristics Of The Retina Of The Cuttlefish, Sepia Officinalis, Lisa Nelson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Cephalopods have extremely well developed visual systems which are of particular interest due to the well known morphological similarity of the cephalopod eye to the vertebrate eye. This similarity ends at the level of the photoreceptors where vertebrates and invertebrates have been found to use different intracellular second messengers. Although the effect of extracellular ion manipulation on the light response has been examined and some very useful biochemical studies carried out, the pathway has not been investigated by the use of pharmacological intervention; a method which has proved to be useful in other preparations. This study examines various properties of …

Dsp Processor Based Vision Processing And System Integration For Control Of Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (Lamp), Srinivas Musti

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents the research and development of a real-time vision system and integration of various subsystems to build the hybrid system for the Laser aided manufacturing process (LAMP), being developed at the University of Missouri--Rolla. A description of the real-time control architecture, showing the interaction of the real-time controller with various sensors and subsystems to monitor and regulate the process is presented.

Control of melt pool geometry is important for ensuring the final product quality since the bead size significantly influences the joint strength. However, during the deposition process, impurities and the plume present around the pool complicate the …

Hybrid Data Mining Technique For Application In Geo-Chemical Data Analysis, Shipra Dutta

Masters Theses

"Data mining is a very active research area, which has gained a lot of attention over the past few years for its applications in various fields ranging from stock forecasting to detecting damages in the structures like aircrafts. The use of data mining for applications in science and business has evoked a lot of interest in the researchers to explore the area further. In this research, a novel hybrid clustering architecture will be presented as a possible solution to classify the geo-chemical data obtained by conducting various direct and indirect tests on different sites. The fact that no single learning …

Common- And Differential-Mode Signaling And Filtering, Zhe Li

Masters Theses

"Common-mode chokes are widely used as suppression filters against interference of common-mode noise in high-speed differential signaling. This thesis focuses on investigating the characteristics of common-mode chokes. Mixed-mode S-parameters are presented as a useful concept for explaining the modal operation of differential circuits.

Three methods for measuring common-mode and differentia-mode S-parameters of common-mode chokes are demonstrated. The three methods involve (1) ABCD chain matrix, 2) using hybrid couplers and 3) modal decomposition. Each measurement method provides a specific level of accuracy. The modal decomposition method can work up to 10GHz.

SPICE equivalent circuit model of common-mode chokes and the extraction …

The Insecticidal Properties Of A Garlic Oil, With Special Reference To Its Use Against Two Dipteran Pests, Gareth Michael Prowse

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The potential for a quantitatively produced garlic oil for use as an insecticide was investigated. The study assessed the garlic oils efficacy in the laboratory and in the field, as well as its physiological effect on three key enzymes noted for their involvement either in toxicity, or detoxication of exogenous toxins in two Dipteran pests; Delia radicum (L.) and Musca domestica (L.). The garlic oil absorbed onto wood flour pellets (prills) had no significant repellent effect on D. radicum, in choice tests when presented with artificial oviposition sites. Exposure of 24hr old D. radicum eggs to garlic prills placed on …

Increased Brain Histamine H3 Receptor Expression During Hibernation In Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels, T Sallmen, Af Lozada, Ov Anichtchik, Al Beckman, P Panula

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

BACKGROUND: Hibernation is a state of extremely reduced physiological functions and a deep depression of CNS activity. We have previously shown that the histamine levels increase in the brain during hibernation, as does the ratio between histamine and its first metabolite, suggesting increased histamine turnover during this state. The inhibitory histamine H3 receptor has both auto- and heteroreceptor function, rendering it the most likely histamine receptor to be involved in regulating the activity of histamine as well as other neurotransmitters during hibernation. In view of accumulating evidence that there is a global depression of transcription and translation during hibernation, of …

Revisiting The Black Hole Of Workplace Regulation: A Historical And Comparative Perspective Of Contingent Work, Stephen F. Befort

Articles

A dramatic shift in the nature of work relationships in the United States has occurred during the past two decades. Long-term employment constituted the predominant model of structuring work relationships well into the 1970s. Since then, American firms increasingly have resorted to a variety of non-traditional work arrangements. These new workers, frequently denominated the "contingent workforce," tend to have a weaker workplace affiliation and a lower expectation of long-term employment.'

Judicial Supremacy And Its Discontents, Dale Carpenter

Articles

This is a remarkably quiet period in the public life of the Constitution. It is not a quiet time for constitutional law professors, of course, for whom there is always a crisis around the bend, a radical departure from fundamental values afoot, a usurpation of rights lurking. And there is certainly a lot of activity related to constitutional law, from the recent impeachment of President Clinton to judicial intervention in the election of 2000 to the creation of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists and enemy combatants. It is a quiet period, however, in the sense that there is remarkably …

Norms On The Responsibilities Of Transnational Corporations And Other Business Enterprises With Regard To Human Rights, David Weissbrodt, Muria Kruger

Articles

On August 13, 2003, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights approved the "Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights" (Norms) 1 in its Resolution 2003/16. 2 The Norms represent a landmark step in holding businesses accountable for their human rights abuses and constitute a succinct, but comprehensive, restatement of the international legal principles applicable to businesses with regard to human rights, humanitarian law, international labor law, environmental law, consumer law, anticorruption law, and so forth.

What Were They Thinking? Fourth Amendment Unreasonableness In Atwater V. City Of Lago Vista, Richard Frase

Articles

In Atwater v. City of Lago Vista the Supreme Court upheld the arrest and jailing of a woman for a seat belt violation even though her offense was punishable only with a small fine, and there was no reason why the police officer could not have simply issued a citation. Atwater thus permits, and indeed encourages, unnecessary and disproportionate arrests (along with the various searches and other hardships which routinely accompany an arrest). The extremely broad arrest power recognized by the Court also creates a grave potential for abuse in light of the breadth of modern traffic laws (almost every …

Experimental Studies Assessing The Repeatability Of A Functional Modeling Derivation Method, Mark A. Kurfman, Michael E. Stock, Robert B. Stone, Jagan Rajan, Kristin L. Wood

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the results of research attempts to substantiate repeatability and uniqueness claims of a functional model derivation method following a hypothesis generation and testing procedure outlined in design research literature. Three experiments are constructed and carried out with a participant pool that possesses a range of engineering design skill levels. the experiments test the utility of a functional model derivation method to produce repeatable functional models for a given product among different designers. in addition to this, uniqueness of the functional models produced by the participants is examined. Results indicate the method enhances repeatability and leads designers toward …

Mapping Function To Failure Mode During Component Development, Irem Y. Tumer, Robert B. Stone

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

When designing aerospace systems, it is essential to provide crucial failure information for failure prevention. Failure modes and effect types of analyses and prior engineering knowledge and experience are commonly used to determine the potential modes of failures a product might encounter during its lifetime. When new products are being considered and designed, this knowledge and information is expanded upon to help designers extrapolate based on their similarity with existing products and the potential design tradeoffs. in this work, we aim to enhance this process by providing design-aid tools which derive similarities between functionality and failure modes. Specifically, this paper …

Multidimensional, Time-Accurate Cfd Simulation Of Adsorption/Desorption In A Carbon Canister, Xingyan Bai, Kakkattukuzhy M. Isaac, D. Klein, R. Banerjee, J. Edson, W. Breig, L. Oliver

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Computational fluid dynamics simulations of fixed-bed adiabatic adsorption/desorption processes are presented in this paper. Linear driving force model is used for heat and mass transfer rates. a two-dimensional cylindrical canister and three-dimensional automotive production canister geometry are used to study the adsorption/desorption processes of carbon dioxide in helium carrier gas on Norit B4 activated carbon. the two-dimensional results compare well with the results of Hwang et al. [1]. Computational results as breakthrough curve, adsorption amount and temperature profiles are provided. Results show that non-adiabatic model should be used to fully utilize the activated carbon bed capacity prior to breakthrough. Copyright …